Believe it or not, you can actually start a microfarm in a rain gutter! When growing food in the city, a key principle is considering all your options available to you. The seasoned urban farmer knows the initial stage requires a combination of creativity and resourcefulness.
City folks are busy and often don’t have adequate land to grow food via traditional means, and the rain gutter farm is an ingenious remedy to both issues. I learned about the method from a truck driver some years ago. They loved growing food, but were away from their land for weeks at a time. Gutter farming — although unconventional — was the perfect solution for him because it let him continue his passion for growing while still fulfilling his busy schedule.
What is a rain gutter farm?
Simply put, a rain gutter farm is a subirrigated planter that is continuously topped up with water from a reservoir. It is called such because a vinyl rain gutter is used to create the reservoir. It’s an excellent material because it is widely accessible and affordable, meaning anyone can start their own rain gutter garden.
👍🏻 What are the benefits of gutter farming?
- It will always water your plants, so it’s highly convenient.
- You can produce a large amount of food.
- It is constructed with common materials.
- It’s simple to build and doesn’t require much construction know-how.
How do build a rain gutter farm?
🔨 What do I need to build a rain gutter farm?
- Level. Make sure that your reservoir is level or your water will not sit evenly.
- Vinyl gutter. This normally is 10′ long and can be found at most hardware stores.
- Gutter end caps. You will need these to to close the ends of your gutter.
- Silicone. Have a 100% waterproof exterior to seal off the ends and ensure it is watertight.
- Wood. This will act as your bucket support. Use 4″ × 4″ treated posts to hold the vinyl gutter and the buckets on top.
- Food-grade buckets. These can be found in your hardware store. It’s vital to have food-grade buckets because it will sit in the sun, and you don’t want any chemical leaching in your food.
- Net pots. Each one of your food grade buckets will need one of these.
- Water reservoir. You will need a large container so you can fill up your rain gutter.
- Grommet. This is often overlooked, but it will make a watertight seal between the reservoir and gutter.
- Float valve. This will sit in your reservoir and will automatically replenish the water once it gets low.
🚰 What type of float valve should I use?
With the shallow water reservoir, it's important to get a shallow float valve too. You might not to be able to find this at you locate hardware store, so you'd have to check out some grow shops, either online or locally.
🪣 How to modify your buckets for your rain gutter farm
Once you have food grade buckets, you will need to modify the bottom to handle a net pot. Your net pot shouldn’t be larger than the size of your reservoir. Generally, 3″ is a good size for a rain gutter system.
If you want to DIY an air pot with a regular bucket, you can easily do so by drilling holes in the side with the hole saw you used for the net pot. You want to leave at least 2″ of space between holes, so the bucket stays strong — don’t overdo it!
Updated August 12, 2021. Originally published May 16, 2020.
